A good day

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Today was busy but successful.  In the morning I took Tiddler to his Musicbox class while a lovely friend looked after 6 children in my house (3 of mine and her 3).  The music class is a relatively new thing for us, and I really enjoy doing something with and for my littlest one, as most of our activities revolve around the older ones.  I’ve wanted to do it for a very long time, but it seemed impossible.  I’m so glad I’ve finally made it happen (and very grateful to the kindness of my friend, and in other weeks my mother-in-law, in looking after the big three children.)

When I arrived back home, the two of us gathered up our collection of children, coats, packed lunches, etc and got ready to set off for the city farm.  A friend joined us with her two little ones, and when we got there we met up with several families from another local home ed group which has recently been set up (there are a lot of us about!)  It was fun to meet some new people and we were fortunate to be able to join in the farm tour which they had arranged.

The children enjoyed feeding the animals (sheep, goats, alpacas… I’m not sure if any of them were brave enough to feed the cows, they were a bit too slobbery…), looking at the tiny newborn piglets and their enormous mother and watching the ducks for a very long time…Tiddler in particular kept coming back to them.   They also had fun stroking a rabbit, visiting “chicken village” (love the name) and feeling a newly laid egg which was warm.

Next we headed into the classroom to eat our packed lunch.  The peace was spoiled by a classic Tiddler tantrum, when he spotted a chocolate bar and therefore refused to eat his sandwiches.  I would like to apologise to the other families (if they happen to be reading) for the terrible noise, but would also like to claim experienced parent brownie points because I WON and he ate his sandwich and apple in the end.  Of course he got the chocolate bar afterwards so he was happy!

The final activity at the farm was clay modelling which was a great hit with the older three children.  They were asked to make models of animals, and were absorbed in the task for a long time, before heading out into the fresh air and sunshine.  It was a lovely outing, and we returned home in time for the children to enjoy some downtime and a Friday afternoon free choice of activities.  Monkey continued to work on and perfect his clay model, and he and Owl did some drawing while Rabbit played with her favourite doll (Holly – who probably deserves a post of her own sometime) and Tiddler had a very long sleep.

I managed to fit in a session tutoring a lovely nearly 10 year old girl (while her mum looked after my children) and the day ended with some fun playing in the garden, enjoying the evening sunshine, until Rabbit demonstrated clearly that it was bedtime by biting her big brother’s arm.  Oh dear – but at least she was tired enough to settle down quickly, as was Tiddler despite the afternoon sleep.  The big boys stayed up a little later to enjoy 20 minutes computer time which they had earned earlier in the day, before going to bed quite cheerfully.  So all in all it’s been a good day!

Monkey’s Cat in a basket

Owl’s Ducks in a duck pond

Rabbit’s Very Big Pig and Very Small Piglet

Owl

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Owl is 7, very nearly 8, my first baby… and the book I have chosen for him is Owl Babies.  I have read it to all my babies, and still do.  Though they are not babies any more, not even Tiddler really, they still love this book.

Written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Patrick Benson, Owl Babies is the story of three baby owls and their mother who live in a hole in the trunk of a tree.  One night the babies wake up and find that their mother has gone.  They edge out of their hole, sit on the tree and wait for her for what feels like a very long time.  “And the baby owls closed their owl eyes and wished their Owl Mother would come… AND SHE CAME.”  The baby owls jump around and flap with excitement.  ” ‘WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS?’ their Owl Mother asked .  ‘You knew I’d come back.’ ”  In some ways it’s an unsettling book to read; the feelings of anxiety so clearly drawn will resonate with anyone who has experienced them as a child or recognises them in their own children.  However, the reassurance of the Mother who always comes back brings a happy and comforting ending to the story.

Monkey

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I said I would write a post about a children’s book linked to the nickname we have chosen for each child.  Next up is monkey.  Our monkey is six, and it wasn’t hard to choose a book to write about for this one.  We have been reading Monkey Puzzle to our two oldest boys since they were very small, and now the younger ones love it too.  Another creation of the brilliant Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, it is a delightful combination of a simple and satisfying story, wonderful rhyming prose and detailed and funny illustrations.

The story starts with a monkey who has lost his mum, and a butterfly tries to help him find her, but she keeps on getting it wrong.  After she has suggested many different animals to the monkey, he replies in frustration: “Butterfly, butterfly, can’t you see? None of these creatures looks like me!” Butterfly explains that she didn’t know the monkey’s mum would look like him, because “…None of my babies looks like me.”  After this misunderstanding is cleared up, she leads him to his dad who takes him home to his mum.

Home Ed Camp

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Yesterday we set off on a short journey to a big adventure – our first overnight camp with a local home education group.  After a quick packed lunch and a chance to explore, the older children had a go at archery while the little ones had a session with slightly less dangerous bows and arrows.  For the rest of the day, they all enjoyed playing in the big open space and wooded areas, getting muddy and collecting wood, and after the evening meal we gathered round a camp fire and toasted marshmallows.  When we eventually tried to put them to bed, the excitement of the day was too much, combined with the excitement of bunk beds, and it was almost midnight by the time our children finally slept.  We did manage a game of knockout whist and some grown-up conversation though, before heading off to bed and discovering our daughter asleep on the floor of the corridor – she was the last one to give in to sleep, and not without a fight.

This morning, we were a bit slow to get going, but after a quick run in the drizzle (me) and a hot chocolate (the children), we joined the other families for breakfast.  Soon after that the older children had a go on the climbing wall, while the younger ones played frisbee, ran around and jumped in muddy puddles.  After that there was just time for a quick lunch before packing up to leave.  We had a great time, but it’s good to be home.  We may have mountains of muddy clothes to wash, but we also have happy children who are thoroughly worn out and now sleeping soundly.  We are very grateful to those who worked so hard to organise the camp, and already looking forward to the next one!

Rabbit

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Yesterday I wrote a post about Tiddler, the book which inspired the nickname of our smallest one.  After much discussion with the three older children, I have chosen a nickname for each of them, and I thought it would be fun to link them to some of our favourite children’s books as well.

Rabbit is our four-year old and our only girl.  There are no shortage of children’s books with rabbit in the title, but The Velveteen Rabbit is one I particularly like.  When I was thinking about writing this post, I realised that I hadn’t read it to any of the children for quite a while and when I showed it to my daughter she didn’t recognise it!  This is possibly the downside of having a houseful of books – we have so many that special ones can sometimes disappear for a while.  In fact, it’s gone missing again in the last two days…

The Velveteen Rabbit is a classic children’s book, written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson.  It is the story of a toy rabbit who becomes real through the love of a small boy.  “Real isn’t how you are made…It’s a thing that happens to you.  When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real.”  Beautifully written and illustrated, it is as relevant to children today as when it was first published in 1922.  It is an ideal bedtime story for little ones, and also an enjoyable read for older children.  Now I just need to find my copy…

Tiddler

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Tiddler is our two-year old, and it is also the name of a book that we love.  Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Tiddler is a wonderfully rhythmic, rhyming story, perfect for reading aloud.  Tiddler is a little fish who is always telling stories.  No-one believes him, but one day when he is in trouble his trail of stories helps him find his way home.  The detailed illustrations of so many different sea creatures are very appealing, and for those who are already familiar with The Gruffalo, also by Donaldson and Scheffler, there is a Gruffalo fish to look out for as well.

Tiddler, The Story-Telling Fish. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, 2007.

What’s in a name?

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The hardest thing about starting to write is the blank page – or screen.  When I thought about writing this blog I realised that the title could have become something I agonised about for so long that I would never have begun.  So instead I thought, I’ll just choose the first thing I can think of and get on with it.  Looking around the room, I happened to spot a rather beautiful box with a picture of The Very Hungry Caterpillar on it – having previously contained a mug and bowl gift set, it is now waiting to house “precious things” when I finally decide exactly which things are precious enough for such a gorgeous box!  So that is how this blog came by its name.  Only afterwards did I notice it was quite apt.  Watching children grow and develop into the amazing people they were created to be is perhaps a little like watching caterpillars changing into butterflies.  Only a bit more noisy and messy…

Just another Home Ed blog

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Well here I am at the start of this new journey.  After months of thinking about it, I’ve finally done it – and all it took was the prompting of a child who really wants to write a blog.  So I think there will be a few guest posts from him, and his younger siblings in due course.  For the children, I hope it will be a fun way for them to develop their writing skills.  And for me as well, but also to record some of the steps along the road of our life as a family.  I hope there may be experiences and ideas we can share along the way, to encourage and inspire other parents and home educators.  But for now, I think we’re just doing it because we can.  Thank you for reading!